Anyone can work hard. The rest is luck.

There's a myth out there: if you just work hard enough, you'll make your dream happen.

Well, sort of.

Hard work is a prerequisite to most success. There's a threshold to cross, whether in startups, arts, or corporate, that must be met. Consistent effort is the steed of progress.

But when it comes to selling your company, the virality of your art, or even your corporate promotion, so much of that is luck. What were the market conditions that allowed you to sell? Was there someone that happened to find your art and be a super connector? Did you happen to find a boss that you vibe with?

Even before the actual work, it often takes a circumstantial luck factor that allows people to pursue any of those paths. The following may be spicy or controversial, but here goes: most folks that I've seen have success in startups and arts have been significantly or completely de-risked by parents or patrons that provide a financial safety net. They had notable resources to fall back on.

That's luck. Those kinds of perks are not earned.

So the myth is only partially true. Yes, you need to work hard. The danger there is believing that we're in a meritocracy. Merit is not the metric.

So how do you get lucky? Keep putting yourself out there. Luck is catalyzed by putting ourselves out there to forces beyond us. It's sharing ourselves with others.

Remember that work alone won't get you there. There's a significant luck component. But you can increase your odds by continuing to share yourself.

So keep sharing your work, your ideas, and yourself. The more you do, the more chances you give luck to find you.